George Herbert S Pastoral

As poet and as country parson, George Herbert engaged the pastoral in all of its varied senses. In October of 2007, many of the world's leading Herbert scholars met at Sarum College in Salisbury, England to locate Herbert's pastoral life and writings more particularly in early Stuart Wiltshire. They explored the relations between the pastoral locale of Herbert's last years (1630-1633) in nearby Bemerton and the themes, images, and tenor of his writing. How did the specific country place, time, and people shape the life and work of this especially lyrical country priest? The fourteen essays in this collection address Herbert's pastoral poetry and practice, cast new light on his actual relations with specific local personalities and places, make fresh connections to the inward biblical and liturgical spaces of his work, consider his outward links to garden and pasture, and discover fictional and theological reverberations beyond Herbert's local, pastoral world. Christopher Hodgkins is Professor of English at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro.

This book places George Herbert's writing and biography within the history of social and economic change in seventeenth-century England. Drawing on the works of Max Weber, Raymond Williams, and the Protestant preachers of the period, the author argues that the doctrine of vocation is the shaping principle of The Temple and the prose manual The Country Parson, which coordinate inward devotion with outward social role like the soul with the body. This form of early modern subjectivity is shown to be significantly at odds with the system of status and yet developed in order to preserve traditional models of community. The book demonstrates that Herbert's family shared his Protestant vision of "the common good," which included innovations in agriculture and mining, colonization of the Americas, and a worldwide trade nexus. William Herbert, patron of Shakespeare and head of the Protestant faction at court and in Parliament, was also George Herbert's patron, and George's involvement with this faction is offered as the explanation for his lack of patronage from an increasingly Anglo-Catholic court. His position as a country parson required the renunciation of ambition and a new ideal of the "character" of holiness but in no way decreased his dedication to the Protestant linking of religion and enterprise. The author explores the poetic coterie out of which Herbert's lyrics were generated, the remarkable revisions that erased an earlier version of The Temple authorizing social mobility, and the role of class in the poetic collection as well as in modern critical accounts. Herbert's use of the pastoral is considered in relation to his family's practice of gardening, which redefined economic innovation as moral reformation. The author argues that Herbert's works and those of his family make visible the influence of and the resistance to the new capitalist economic system emerging in the early modern period.

George Herbert (1593-1633) was an Anglican priest, poet and essayist--truly one of the most profound spiritual masters in the English tradition. His spirituality was a synthesis of Evangelical and Catholic piety.

Gale Researcher Guide for: George Herbert: Simplicity and Sacred Love is selected from Gale's academic platform Gale Researcher. These study guides provide peer-reviewed articles that allow students early success in finding scholarly materials and to gain the confidence and vocabulary needed to pursue deeper research.

Fairacres Publications 153 Ben de la Mare’s deep understanding of poetry is shown in this sensitive examination of the spiritual journey and conversion reflected in George Herbert’s development and revision of his poem ‘Perfection’ to become the final version, ‘The Elixir’. This poem is best known in the hymn version, ‘Teach me my God and King …’ In his work of revision and his quest for perfection, George Herbert has created an inspired image for that transformation of the human heart which only God can accomplish.

George Herbert's Country Parson is a masterpiece of Christian literature, providing readers with a deep and insightful look into the life and ministry of a rural pastor in 17th-century England. Herbert's wisdom, wit, and warmth make this a must-read for anyone interested in pastoral literature and Christian spirituality. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.